Public holidays etc.
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
M moves for approval of the proposal in the report and wants to reject the other motions as they lack sufficient basis 1. M believes that it is important to handle the collective memory carefully and that memories of Sweden and people such as Raoul Wallenberg should be preserved 1. V moves for approval of the reservation 2. V considers that the Sami national day is a day worth noting and celebrating 2. V believes that it is a pity that flag-flying is arbitrary and that the Sami national day should become a flag day to make Sami visible and include them in the Swedish community 2.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Ulrik Nilsson (M)
Mr. Speaker! I believe it was Gustav III who in 1772 decided to abolish the third and fourth days of Christmas as public holidays in Sweden. The reason then, as it often is now, when we value both public holidays and other recognitions, was that one has to weigh the practical problems against what these days stand for. Gustav III probably thought it was better that people went to work on the 27th and 28th of December than to church to celebrate. The starting point for many of our public holidays was sacral. Different saints were celebrated and one had to go to church, and then one could not work.
Gradually, however, the feast days shifted more towards name days, and today they are perhaps more of a curiosity. For those who wonder, it is Sigvard and Sivert who have their name day today.
This committee report is titled Public holidays etc. In addition to public holidays, it concerns much about shared appreciations of persons, events, and memories. The report mentions memorials, the national anthem, and a number of distinctions.
It is clear that the reasons have shifted from being basic sacral ones to being both profane and national. It concerns everything from the fact that we have a national day to rules for how we should fly the flag. As we have said, we also have decorations and memorials. The day that is perhaps most discussed is May 1st.
It has obviously become quite a big thing to have days for everything. It must strike something in the people in Sweden – I don't know. Yesterday we celebrated the Day of the Swedish-speaking Finns. I can possibly have some understanding for that. Today's theme, grapefruit day, is something more questionable. Possibly one can describe it as somewhat more sour.
Mr. Speaker! There are also personal reasons. Public holidays tend to be days off. But we do not always use the day to observe the reason for the holiday. From student circles, one often hears that the value of May 1st does not lie in May 1st but in that it is the day after April 30th. That suggests a bit of how people today adapt personally to the system we have.
Carl Erik Hedlund conducted an investigation many years ago on making national day a public holiday. He concluded that it should be done. But he also suggested something that I find interesting: that one should place the student graduation or high school graduation on national day so that everyone could be off that day. Just finding combinations, how one weaves in the public holidays, I believe is something that many are calling for.
Mr. Speaker! Earlier today, we heard a speaker express their love for local democracy. That was perhaps a way of saying that it is also something that should be noticed and clarified, but perhaps not with a public holiday and perhaps not with a medal or a memorial.
This report is actually about how we preserve and defend our collective memory. It is memories that lie behind the old public holidays, a memory of when Sweden was created and shaped and of people whom we today want to honor, whether they are municipal representatives or, as the proposal here concerns, Raoul Wallenberg. There are reasons to manage the collective memory. But because it is precisely collective and we can have so many aspects of it, we must proceed carefully and ensure that it is actually corresponded by something that we can collectively stand behind, because it is Sweden's memory. Behind the report Public holidays etc. lies, therefore, an important question about how we preserve our Swedish memory.
Mr. Speaker! With that said and with the caution that is needed, it is probably the wisest thing we can do anyway to approve the proposal in the report that is before us today and thereby reject the motions that exist, not because all are ill-intentioned but because significantly more grounds are required to take a position.
Mr. Speaker! I would like to move for the approval of the proposal in the Committee on the Constitution's report 25 Public holidays etc.
Jessica Wetterling (V)
Mr. Speaker! I was alerted by the previous speaker that it is apparently grapefruit day today. I will therefore begin somewhat sourly by saying that it might not be very appropriate to compare grapefruit day with our five recognized national minorities and the observance of their days. Since I have gotten to know the previous speaker, Ulrik Nilsson, over the last four years in the Committee on the Constitution, I am convinced that it was not what he meant. But since Ulrik Nilsson also spoke about moderation, I would still like to point out to him that it can be unwise to compare fruits with five national minorities, for example the Sámi who are also an indigenous people who are part of our common history.
I also noted that the previous speaker mentioned May 1st. I guess we move in different circles. Where I move and in my circle of acquaintances, people do not talk particularly much about abolishing May 1st. But I believe there is a fairly good deadlock here between Vänsterpartiet and the other parties. Those who do not want to celebrate May 1st still have the advantage of being able to celebrate the King's birthday instead, which is the day before. It is therefore a win-win situation for everyone.
Mr. Speaker! I would like to move for approval of the reservation. And now I would like to begin speaking about it.
A few weeks ago, on February 6, the Sami National Day was celebrated. It was introduced in 1992 and is common for all of Sápmi. The reason that it became that specific day is that February 6 is a historical date. It was then that the first Sami land meeting was held in Trondheim in 1917. The meeting gathered over 100 Sami from Sweden and Norway. A large part were women. It was the first time in Sami history that North and South Sami from Norway and Sweden gathered for a borderless meeting to discuss common problems. It also became a strong Sami manifestation against authorities and oppression. Therefore, February 6 has been chosen as an important symbolic day for all Sami, regardless of which of the countries one lives in.
One of the initiators was the pioneer Elsa Laula Renberg, who at the age of 27 formed the first Sami national organization, Lapska centralförbundet, for which she also became chairperson. Her own experiences of the state's policies made her fight throughout her entire life to improve the conditions for the Sami people. Her work together with other Sami is also the basis for the Sami organizing that exists in our day.
Mr. Speaker! The Left Party believes that the Sami National Day should be celebrated, which already happens today in many places around our country. We believe that it is a day that is worth noticing and celebrating. Since 2007, the Sami flag has flown outside Stockholm City Hall on the Sami National Day. I was myself there at the flag ceremony a few weeks ago.
I do, however, think it is somewhat unfortunate if the reasons why a flag is or is not flown in a certain place are arbitrary or have to do with the political will in a specific municipality. There is also, in my opinion, an important point in highlighting both the Sámi national day as well as other dates that are significant for national minorities. One example is the Swedish-Finnish day, which was celebrated yesterday. Knowledge is low in many places regarding the fact that there are five national minorities as well as an indigenous people in Sweden. Flying a flag is not just a symbolic act – it is making visible and inclusive.
Not so long ago, the Sámi Parliament held a plenary session here in the Riksdag. At that time, the Riksdag flew the Sámi flag. But yesterday on the Swedish-Finnish Day, the flag was not flown, and neither was it flown a few weeks ago on the Sámi National Day. I think it is a pity, because this is part of our common history. Making the Sámi National Day a flag day would be a strong signal. It would be a way to acknowledge the historical oppression and the dark history, but also to make the Sámi visible and include them in the Swedish community.
The deliberation was hereby concluded.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.